
More than 30 killed in sectarian clashes in Syria's Sweida, interior ministry says
The violence erupted after a wave of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Sweida, witnesses said.
This is the first time sectarian fighting has erupted inside the city of Sweida itself, the provincial capital of the mostly Druze province.
Last April saw clashes between Sunni fighters and armed Druze residents of Jaramana, southeast of Damascus, which later spread to another district near the provincial capital.
"This cycle of violence has exploded in a terrifyng way and if it doesn't end we are heading toward to a bloodbath," said Rayan Marouf, a Druze researcher based in Sweida who runs the Suwayda24 website.
The clashes involving Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze militias were centered in Maqwas neighborhood east of Sweida, which is inhabited by Bedouin tribes, and was encircled by armed Druze groups and later seized.
The Syrian ministry of interior said that its forces will begin direct intervention in Sweida to resolve the conflict, calling on local parties in the Druze city to cooperate with the security forces.
Armed Bedouin tribesmen also launched attacks on Druze villages on the western and north outskirts of the city, residents said.
A medical source told Reuters that at least 15 bodies had been taken to the morgue at Sweida's state hospital. Around 50 people were injured, with some transported to Deraa city for medical care.
The violence marked the latest episode of sectarian bloodshed in Syria, where fears among minority groups have surged since Islamist-led rebels toppled President Bashar al-Assad in December, installing their own government and security forces.
Those concerns intensified following the killing of hundreds of Alawites in March, in apparent retaliation for an earlier attack carried out by Assad loyalists.
It was the deadliest sectarian flare-up in years in Syria, where a 14-year civil war ended last December with Assad fleeing to Russia after his government was overthrown by rebel forces.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Syria expected to hold parliamentary election in September, official says
July 27 (Reuters) - Syria is expected to hold its first parliamentary election under the new administration in September, the head of the electoral process told state news agency SANA on Sunday. Voting for the People's Assembly is expected to take place from September 15-20, added the official, Mohamed Taha.


BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Christian worshippers killed in IS-linked attack in DR Congo
Dozens of people have been killed in an attack by an Islamic State affiliate in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local officials 20 of the dead were worshippers taking part in a night vigil at a church in the town of Komanda when they were attacked by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) fighters, they shops and businesses were looted and set on ADF emerged in Uganda in the 1990s, accusing the government there of persecuting Muslims, but is now based over the border in DR Congo, where it regularly attacks civilians of all religions, as well as in Uganda. It has since become part of the Islamic State's Central African Province, which also includes a group in to research by BBC Monitoring, nearly 90% of IS operations are now carried out by affiliates in Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in Komanda, told the Associated Press that more bodies could be found after the latest attack."More than 21 people were shot dead inside and outside [the church] and we have recorded at least three charred bodies and several houses burned. But the search is continuing." Father Aime Lokana Dhego, a local priest, told the AFP news agency: "We have at least 31 dead members of the Eucharistic Crusade movement, with six seriously injured. Some young people were kidnapped, we have no news of them." He added that seven other bodies had been found elsewhere in the UN-sponsored Radio Okapi website put the number of dead at 43.A spokesperson for the army said he could confirm 10 2021, DR Congo invited Ugandan troops into the country to help tackle the ADF. Attacks however still is in DR Congo's mineral-rich Ituri province, which has been fought over by various armed groups for many years. ADF: The Ugandan rebels working with IS in DR CongoInside view of the IS-linked ADF rebels Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica


Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Islamic state-backed rebels kill 38 in attack on east Congo church
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, July 27 (Reuters) - Islamic State-backed rebels killed 38 people on Sunday in an attack on a church in eastern Congo, city officials said. The assault in Komanda, a city in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, is believed to have been carried out by ADF rebels, wielding guns and machetes, officials told Reuters. Jean Kato, an official in the city administration, said worshippers were taking part in a night mass when the rebels stormed the church in the early hours of Sunday morning. Thirty-eight people were dead, 15 injured and several others were still missing, officials said. Christophe Munyanderu, a human rights activist present at the scene in Komanda, said shots were heard overnight but people at first thought it was thieves. "The rebels mainly attacked Christians who were spending the night in the Catholic church," said Munyanderu. "Unfortunately, these people were killed with machetes or bullets." The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DR Congo has condemned a recent resurgence in violence in the province where this attack happened.